Benjamin Cooke (? - 1743) was an organist, music publisher and music seller based at the Golden Harp in New Street, Covent Garden, from 1726 to 1743. Cooke had, in 1723, married the widow of John Jones, who had operated as an instrument maker and music publisher at the Golden Harp until 1720.
His second wife, Elizabeth Wayet, the sister-in-law of Lancelot (Capability) Brown, gave birth to the composer Benjamin Cooke(1734 - 1793).
In addition to collections of dance music, Cooke's production included a seminal edition of the collected works of Arcangelo Corelli in study scores comprising all five books of sonatas and the twelve concerti grossi. Indeed, Cooke was, in many ways, a pioneering music publisher with his insistence on sourcing music from composers or their agents rather than other publishers' material.
Where's the book now, Ian, please? or is it your own copy? It beats the earliest country dance source I knew of (apart from actual dance manuals), viz Kitty Bridge's MS of 1745 in VWML. Thanks for sharing.
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